Patty Kogutek, author of “A Change of Habit,” has helped thousands cure their anxiety, living “guilt-free.” Living as a Catholic nun for 7 years, and working her way through a 12 year failed marriage, Patty gathered “7 Secrets to Guilt-Free Living” that gave her the courage and the permission to finally follow her heart putting the expectation of others aside.

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As we go through our daily lives, we often find ourselves at a loss for words when it comes to prayer. This small prayer book contains “prayer starters” covering occasion both happy and sad. Use these thoughts and words as a ready reference and springboard for your own conversation with God.

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“Patty Kogutek is a spiritual dynamo! She may have had a Change of Habit but when it comes to life, never a change of heart. She is all about friendship, family and faith, and writes of all three with verve.” -Adriana Trigiani Bestselling author of Big Stone Gap

One more mass shooting, one more hurricane and we are crying, “God, where are you?” These are not just setbacks. These are not merely bumps in the road. These are full-blown, world altering tragedies bringing devastation to property and personal lives. As we’ve so sadly witnessed recently on so many fronts that life can turn in a second, unannounced. One doctor’s diagnosis, one storm, one missed red light, one frantic phone call, or one beat of the heart. Sometimes we get so caught up in our day-to-day living that we take our life for granted. We fall into the trap of thinking that this human condition is forever. Our lives consist of a collage of all these precious TEMPORARY years, days and minutes that we are on this earth – for better or worse. Often it takes the jolt of a tragedy to look to God for meaning. We need to remind ourselves that God is with us, and speaking to us through ANY situation. When the world seems to fall apart and the bottom drops out of our lives, we need to see past the ugliness and through the pain to the ultimate reality of things – which is – despite all appearances, God is still in charge, still cares, still has the power to make all things right, and still intends to do just that – in good time! What enables us to see all that so clearly when disaster has struck so hard? Faith! Even in the thick of turmoil, the Shared Presence of God can be felt. One phone call, one friend, one act of patience, one... read more

How would you answer this 4-letter crossword clue: “Appeal to God”? Of course the answer is “pray”, but prayer is so much more than that. This divine connection, prayer requires more than just pelting God with our earthly needs. Similar to our earthy conversations, talking and listening, we need the same manners in our relationship with God. Just like nourishing relationships with friends and family members, we develop the same “manners” to cultivate prayer connecting to our Creator. We all enjoy learning about our families’ and friend’s life, but no one likes people who monopolize the conversations. In order to engage with others we also need to listen. We can share our desires, with God, but then we need to listen in order to hear his answer. We need to be silent. Surprisingly, the words “silent” and “listen” use the same letters. Listening requires silence. This strong connection with our God, both talking (prayer) and listening (meditation) will enhance our personal relationship with the divine. We are all pretty experienced with the “talking part” but our listening skills sometimes get shelved due to so many reasons. Here are a few suggestions to help you incorporate the meditative aspect of your prayers, taking your time and lifestyle in consideration. Of course, there is traditional meditation(a structured method quieting your mind), but also you can “listen” to God with-meditative walking (outdoors with trees, foliage, meadows, birds or water), -listening to music (don’t forget about the Beach Boys hit, “God Only Knows” works for me!), -guided meditations (recordings can direct you efforts), -yoga (part exercise and part meditation connecting body and soul), and -labyrinths (meditative... read more

Sometimes life, like the ocean, can come crashing in with the strong undertow literally pulling the legs out from under us. When this happens we have two options. We can scream, “This is not fair”, negatively affecting all aspects of our life. Or we can embrace this hardship (fair or unfair) learning from it as we develop personally and spiritually. Adversity works as a giant stepping-stone in our spiritual growth. You’ve heard the phrase “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Most likely overcoming difficulties won’t kill you, but undoubtedly it will wield its longs arms around you with far reaching effects. Positively or Negatively. This adversity can act as a personal transformation if we let it. (But during these difficult times are never seen as such a positive influence.) We call this “baptism by fire”. Baptism by fire serves a purification process. This is God refining his gems, us! I like to think of it similar to the petroleum refining process. Refineries take crude oil and through multiple steps it becomes useful products such as gasoline, etc. God works with each of us in the same manner. Through hardship God invites us to become a “new person”, maybe someone more compassionate, more hopeful, more faith-filled. More like God himself, reflecting like a mirror, our Divine nature. But becoming this new person, this better version of ourselves is not easy. Here’s what Kim Wuirch wrote: “When recovering from difficult things such as heartbreaks or traumatic experience, stop trying to find your old self. The old you does not exist any more, look for the new and improved version of... read more